Dulles: World’s Worst Airport
Underground hike from tram to Concourse C
Dulles International Airport, located about 30 miles west of Washington, has once again lived up to its reputation that if there is a choice between doing something right – which means convenience for air travelers – or totally and expensively screwing something up, the airport’s federal government decision-makers will always choose the latter.
Dulles recently opened a modern, new underground train to whisk passengers between the main ticket/check-in terminal and outlying terminals where passengers board and deplane flights. Until recently, Dulles has transported passengers via a fleet of aging 1960s-era shuttle buses.
Dulles underground train
When I saw a sign that the tram between the main terminal and outlying terminal C was operational, I thought, “Oh boy, I will get to C concourse faster.” Not so. The tram to C concourse does not stop anywhere near the terminal. Rather, it stops several hundred yards away, requiring a long, long walk just to get to C terminal.
Once inside C concourse, one of the airport’s busiest and 3/4 mile long, a traveler could face up to another half-mile walk to get to a gate.
Why the Dulles powers that be would approve an underground train design that literally does not run directly to the terminal defies any logical explanation. Perhaps it is just the stupidity of government oversight in action.
But it adds nearly 1/3 of a mile additional hike from the tram to the terminal, hardly a step into the future for Dulles, which once again earns its reputation as the world’s worst and most inconvenient airport.
Category: Personal notes
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That’s incredible…I also consider Dulles the worst airport I’ve ever visited, and when I’m booking my own flights I don’t even consider flights that land there.
The station for Terminal C was intentionally located at the site of the future concourse that will replace the existing Terminal C. If you have the actual stop at the current Terminal C, you’d sort of have a problem at construction time. Man up and walk.
According to some United Airlines personnel, the new tram to Terminal C at Dulles actually stops about a quarter mile BEYOND Terminal C, reflecting incredibly poor design and planning, they say.
WOW! Dulles is the worst airport to fly in to?? I must have been to a lot of bad airports, because what they’ve done at Dulles is INCREDIBLE. I can check in and get to my gate in MINUTES.
Sorry you had to walk, but like KMJ said, the C/D concourse is temporary, so they put the station where the new 44 gate 3 story state of the art facility will be located. SO in COMPLETE contradiction to what you said, they are planning very well for the future.
You know I believe you can still take a tram to to the C/D gates also…..so you can just sit down and be lazy instead of walking a few extra steps.
Maybe im biased because i’m from the area, but compared to other airports around the country, dulles has always been fast, with few delays….